to those who do cheat days/meals

Schwiggs

How strict are you during your "on" days and during your cheat day/meals, do you count the calories or do you just for you is it just "eat anything without going completely overboard."? I'm having major trouble with binges (large ones at that) and I'm thinking if I do have days where I can have the "bad food" it will take the shame/guilt out of it.

Contrarian

I log everything on my spike days.

uubulldawg06

i eat whatever i want, and only eat until i am full. I try not to go to crazy and stay reasonable with my intake

eryn415

Sometimes I log everything on my "bad" days, but usually not!

rosebarnalice

I log it all.

TurtleJeepChic

I'm finding that even on my "off" days I log my food....it really helps me put it in front of me on how much that mixed drink is that i just downed and was it really worth it? I think it helps to see that food is food it is portion control and if you allow yourself to have that burger take part of the bun off and don't order fries order a salad.... but I would say yes log everything then you know when you hit that wall and can't loose the weight the "off" days your having maybe the reason your not passing through it....

jenniferg83

i log the "splurge days"....it's so good to see what you're eating, Just because you dont blog it that doesn't mean it didnt happen. and when you find you're not losing weight or that you are, you can look back and find it was ok or not ok to eat how you did. it's good to have that sort of info.

RollinDawg

I log everything, and try not to go nuts...but dangit, sometimes you just need some BBQ and a BEER.

Nerdy_Rose

I always log. I try to eat mindfully even when I know I'm going over, and listen to my body so that I don't unnecessarily overeat.

virginiejaubin

I try everyday to keep my 1200 cals, BUT when I go eat at a friend's house or at the restaurant, I usually eat what I want, but try to controll the dammages, for example, I went to a chinese restaurant and I took the general tao chicken cuz I love it, but I had the rice replaced by veggies only. On those days, I try to exercise and eat less on the other meals... my only exeptions are vacations ans holidays like halloween, christmas, easter, etc... (sry for my english...french is my 1st language)

jatiger83

I try to log everything, even the days where I eat all the bad stuff...

wolfchild59

I've logged everything I've eaten since I've joined except for one week in Mexico about a month in because I didn't have cell/web service. Every cheat meal, every healthy day, every candy corn I ate from the jar at work today. From 1200 cal days to 7000 cal days (literally [Disneyland crazy splurge]) they're all in my diary.

yummy♥

i log my spike day, even the really indulgent stuff, and still have a calorie cap, it's just much higher and more carb heavy than the other days. i think the increased cap is helpful, i get to eat a lot of what i may miss during the week but still stay within a certain framework (so no weekly tequila and pork belly benders).

ansonrinesmith

I log everything everyday. Especially on my "cheat" days.
If I find my cheat days are causing me to cancel my weight loss of the rest of the week, then I know I need to curb the "cheat".

btlewis

I usually eat the one thing that I have been craving all week, or go to the one restaurant that I have been craving, but to balance it out I work out extra hard the morning of my cheat day. I still log in everything I eat that day, even though it may be painful seeing all those calories!

christybrooker

This was my fist cheat day today and I used it to try some ideas I've had the last week that I wasn't sure where going to be low calorie. That way they didn't go against my count on a normal day if they ended up being high. I found that logging it made me not go overboard with the freedom. I kept my portions small on the bad stuff and found some things I thought would be bad weren't nearly as bad as I thought.

MeletteB

Remember food is not "good" or "bad" it is about limiting the high calorie foods. Don't let guilt get you off track. Keep telling yourself you can get healthy. If keeping the log on your "cheat" days helps you stay focused on your weight lose then by all means do it. If it just makes you feel guilty, then let it be.

Raf702

How strict are you during your "on" days and during your cheat day/meals, do you count the calories or do you just for you is it just "eat anything without going completely overboard."? I'm having major trouble with binges (large ones at that) and I'm thinking if I do have days where I can have the "bad food" it will take the shame/guilt out of it.

If I have a cheat meal its 1x a week or 1x every other week. And when I do have my cheat meal, I don't count calories. I just eat anything and everything. Then jump back on track the following day, and that's it.

Slimntrim90

I log everything, otherwise I am lying to myself which is counter-productive. BUT...........when I go over my calorie allowance by more than 50-75 calories, I get on the treadmill, on my bike or get my walking shoes on and go for a walk to "earn" those calories. My goal is to lose weight so I need to be honest with myself in order to accomplish that goal. :-)

alyssamiller77

I log everything, always good to have the perspective and usually my splurge days are days when I have a lot of calories burned from exercise and so I typically still stay within my goals.

EliRob

Cheat days do not work for me personally because then I will eat EVERYTHING! Instead I work ‘splurge’ foods into my daily calories or into my meal plan for one of my days if I know I am going out.

virginiejaubin brought up a really great point that works really well, I capitalized the specific part that rocked. (your English is way better than any of my French! )

I try everyday to keep my 1200 cals, BUT when I go eat at a friend's house or at the restaurant, I usually eat what I want, but try to controll the dammages, for example, I went to a chinese restaurant and I took the general tao chicken cuz I love it, but I HAD THE RICE REPLACED BY VEGGIES ONLY. On those days, I try to EXCERCISE and eat less on the other meals... my only exeptions are vacations ans holidays like halloween, christmas, easter, etc... (sry for my english...french is my 1st language)

By replacing the rice for veggies you are cutting out some carbs and up your veggie count for that day! Indulging with one of your favorite meal items, but still trying to stay true to your new lifestyle! Also, excersise a little more on the days were you have a little extra 'splurge', and it will make a difference.

Its all about moderation! I find that by working in the ‘splurge’ foods, that sometimes I don’t even eat those calories because I end up not wanting it that day, and it puts me under my goal! WIN/WIN if you ask me!

For a measly 150 calories you can have a Skinny Cow Chocolate Fudge Ice Cream Cone! It tastes great, and it curbs my sweet tooth!

Don’t get me wrong, there are times where I still go way over my goal, but I don’t beat myself up over it. This is a long term life change for me, one day isn’t going to break me or my determination to be healthier.

I really hope that you find a way that works for you. Good luck! :happy:

carolina_r

Don’t get me wrong, there are times where I still go way over my goal, but I don’t beat myself up over it. This is a long term life change for me, one day isn’t going to break me or my determination to be healthier.

Well said! I definitely try to follow this statement.

EliRob

Thanks Carolina!

I know for me if I think about this change as a 'diet' I end up setting myself up for failure, or straight up sabotaging myself.

For me, this is about really changing my habits and thought process regarding food in general, healthy food intake, self image, etc. This is not a quick fix; this is a long term commitment to yourself, for yourself! I know I’m done being a lesser version of myself! I want to be the best ME I can be!

One day at a time